I am in the process of sorting and getting to know my recently acquired Shovelhead, and a few days ago I did my first engine and transmission oil change. When trying to remove and inspect the crankcase oil screen I ran into the apparently not-too-uncommon problem of an already buggered plug not wanting to unscrew. The drag link socket tool for removing these slotted plugs wouldn’t work due to the slot being worn, and as I attempted to budge it loose with various screw drivers and bars I was starting to make it worse. I realized that I was on the path of wallowing out the slotted plug so badly to where I would either have to leave it be, or take it to someone who knows what they’re doing. My next attempt was spraying the plug with PB Blaster penetrating oil, letting it sit for a few hours, tapping on the plug’s slot with a drift punch, then turning it with a stubby screwdriver with a vice grip on the shaft. After that it came loose real easy. PB Blaster is your friend!
Looking at the screen it looked pretty clean, but I did see some stuff down at the tip. I was able to scrape it out, and there was a small bit of what seems like fabric with a few shiny bits. I am guessing the fabric stuff may be particles from the oil tank filter element, and the shiny bits from engine wear. Although there was not a lot of stuff trapped in the screen, at least the screen is catching something that made its way to the crankcase. I am glad that I made the effort to remove it and find what I did. I put in a new screen and changed the plug to one of the Colony brand hex head plugs for easier removal in the future.
I have no idea when the last time the screen was cleaned or replaced, but it had caught some stuff over time. I will check again at the next oil change and see if there is more stuff getting through to it. When I looked at the old engine oil from the oil tank, swirling it in the oil drain pan, there was a small amount of glitter in the oil. The glitter had more of a copper color, but that may be from the color of the oil. But some stuff appears to be getting past the filter. Again, I have no idea of the history of the oil changes in this bike, but I am looking forward to the next oil change to see what the drained oil, as well and the crankcase oil screen, looks like. This is my first Shovelhead, so I don’t know if this is normal for these bikes or not. The only other time that I noticed a bit of glitter in old oil was with a Moto Guzzi with the old chrome lined cylinder barrels that had a tendency to shed some of the lining from time-to-time, and some of those particles somehow got through the filter.
Anyway, I hope this information may be useful for anyone who may come up against a stuck crankcase oil filter plug.

 

good that you fitted a hex head plug, dunno why Harley did them with slots & the oil pump caps, stupid Idea,
I have read more posts on how to remove them than almost anything else ...(except what oil to use !!! hahahaha,).....

 

drag link socket is what you use - buy a used one on the flea bay and finesse the end down to fit the harley slot - original pieces we cant use something else as its what it came with

put a new screen in they come in a bag of 5 i believe and you will be changing the oil again

the oil tanks get very gummy - i know thats a pain to remove but we do it all the time new machine to us the first time in the shop - just put a clean rag on the end of a long screwdriver and wipe the bottom all that is needed to see the reason

you will be removing it and its a great time to replace the complete hose set - put a quart of gas in the tank when removed over night before doing anything else stir the gas a bunch of times to loosen the muck

now owning it after this is done the oil will stay clean 10 times longer then not doing that also helps to iso the primary - if your going for it can as others will explain the works in it

 

The first time I changed the oil on my shovel that screen was so full of oil filter material it looked like someone stuffed a tampon in it.

carl

 

Wow, perhaps that’s not uncommon. The filter that’s supposed to trap particles from circulating through the engine is adding its own crap to the oil? If that’s the case, I wonder which filters hold up best. Someone in the past converted the oil tank from the original cartridge filter to a drop-in filter. I used a HF178 drop-in filter. It’s possible that the crap that I pulled out of the screen was from before paper drop on filters were used with this bike. Something to keep an eye on. I know that some people don’t bother with them, but the crankcase oil screen serving as a safeguard after the oil filter is a good thing.

 

Thanks for that great advice, John. The bottom of my tank could be like the bottom of Lake Mead for all I know. The glitter that I’m seeing could be from years of accumulation. I just ran the bike to get the oil hot, drained and refilled. Didn’t even think about it. I’m definitely going to give the tank a good flush. Once the tank is flushed and all the sludge and gunk is cleaned out, how often should it be reflushed and cleaned?

 

If you iso the primary 10 years if not every 2

 

Take a long screw driver or something like and go digging around on the bottom of the tank in the corners, you'll be surprised the hard cake crude that could be in there if it's not been done before.

 

Thank you. As far as I can tell the primary is not isolated, i.e., it is still connected to the oil pump and oil tank feed and savage system, if that’s what you mean by iso. I think I am seeing more of the big picture, now that the primary and clutch come into play. I’m going to start thinking of the oil tank and pump as the heart for this machine. Any advice on checks and TLC for the oil pump?

 

I bet! I’m almost tempted to do the oil change all over again, stating with pulling the oil tank at going at it.